The Mitsubishi iO, or the baby Pajero as it will doubtless be known,
was released in Australia in early 1999, and comes
with a 1.6L engine in the SWB model
and a 1.8L engine in the LWB.
Mitsubishi Australia partially bowed to the inevitable, dubbing it the
Pajero iO.
LWB
SWB
The iO is plainly aimed at the
Kia Sportage and
Suzuki Vitara
which share a dual-range transfer case with the iO,
and at the
Subaru Forester,
and Toyota RAV4 which do not.
The main weakness in Mitsubishi's plan
is the lack of a 2 litre engine here in oz,
particularly when the top rivals have 2 litres or more.
Interior room is good in the front but "cosy" in the rear seats.
Luggage room in the LWB is "modest"
and if you want to use one for the school-run, make
sure that your offspring play no musical instruments larger than
a violin; the cello is "out".
The SWB might have trouble fitting even a violin behind the rear seats.
Air conditioning, central locking,
electric door mirrors & windows,
are standard on SWB and LWB.
It is therefore a little surprising that there
is only a driver's airbag and no option of one for
the passenger.
Rear vision is good thanks to the designers having
taken a chunk out of the rear bumper
so that the spare tyre can be hung on the rear door
a little lower than on most 4WDs, i.e. out of the line of sight;
the modest diameter of the 215/65R16 tyres helps in this regard.
transmission: 5m (3.967:1, 2.136:1, 1.36:1, 1.0:1, 0.822:1, rev 3.578:1),
dual range transfer case (1.0:1, 1.548:1),
central diff', final drive 5.111:1
